HutchCC Strategic Plan - updated January 2024. Updated semi-annually.

HutchCC Strategic Plan – updated January 2024. Updated semi-annually.

Table of Contents
Message from the President                                  4
Mission, Vision and Core Values                             6
Why Strategic Planning and Continuous Improvement Matter    7
Strategic Planning Process 2015-Present                     8
Strategic Priorities, Goals, and Objectives                10
Glossary of Terms                                          18
Steering Team Membership                                   21
Board of Trustees                                          21

Message from the President
                   Dr. Carter L. File
I am pleased to share Hutchinson Community College’s Strategic Plan.
This plan is the culmination of hundreds of hours of hard work by
numerous committees and departments throughout the institution.
The driving force behind the Plan is the desire of the College community
to move the organization forward to the benefit of our students and
outside constituent groups. The 2016 - 2020 plan is a continuation and
extension of previous Hutchinson Community College Strategic Plans,
which focused on Learning, Access and Collaboration and specifically
Student Engagement. The overarching themes of the 2016 - 2020 Plan
are to positively impact student persistence, enrollment, retention,
and/or completion.

As the previous strategic plan came to completion in 2014 - 2015, it was
the desire of the College community to engage in a process that
integrated a systematic and systemic process into the culture of
Hutchinson Community College. Our model uses current processes,
committees and structures to accomplish the planning in an organic
manner that is sustainable long-term and will lead to a continuous
improvement mind-set. The College community wanted the process to
be an extension of the committee and department structure, not an ad
hoc process that is a one-time event, rather a continuous cycle of
plando-check-act.

To facilitate this embedded model and enhance the process, a joint
team of the Institution Wide Council, President’s Council and the
Hutchinson Community College Coordinator of Higher Learning
Commission formed the Strategic Planning Steering Team. This
established a 16-person group that had cross sectional input through
the committee structure and fiscal and operational authority through
the divisional structure. This integrated team provides needed input
into the planning process and has the authority to propose any
necessary increase in funding or reallocation of budget authority.

The first step, after the establishment of the overarching themes, was to
ask each committee and department to suggest strategic action projects
to operationalize the Plan. Fifteen original projects were suggested and,
due to similarities in projects, the original list was reduced to seven by
combining projects with a high level of commonality. These seven

action projects were then evaluated against a rubric that was developed
and agreed upon by the Strategic Planning Steering Team.

The action projects outlined in the 2016 - 2020 strategic plan had the
highest scores on the rubric. Along with evaluating the action projects,
each project was assigned an advocate to guide and usher the groups
working on the project. This assured responsibility for moving projects
forward. As we proceed with implementation of action projects, there
are plans for regular updates to the College community on project
progress.

Current action projects are under different phases of development and
implementation. This document is an attempt to communicate and
document the work done to date.

A significant cross-section of the College has been involved in the
development of action projects in support of the overarching Strategic
Planning themes to positively impact student persistence, enrollment,
retention, and/or completion. The involvement of so many individuals
from different areas of the College provides the necessary momentum
to keep the strategic planning process moving forward at Hutchinson
Community College. Also, with our commitment to a continuous
improvement model, as opposed to a static one-time strategic planning
event, we will be able to employ the plan-do-check-act cycle with not
only action projects, but the strategic planning process itself.
Selfreflection in the process will help improve the planning process,
shape the culture, and drive Hutchinson Community College forward in
serving students and fulfilling our mission and vision in the future.

Dr. Carter File President
Hutchinson Community College

Mission, Vision and Core Values

Mission Statement
Expanding the tradition of excellence in higher education through
learning and collaboration.

Vision Statement
Hutchinson Community College will be the premier, two-year
educational institution in Kansas, delivering accessible opportunities for
learning, growth and improved quality of life.

Core Values
Teaching and Learning – HutchCC empowers students and other
stakeholders to develop abilities, talents, and skills while assessing
outcomes, celebrating achievements, and encouraging lifelong learning.

Integrity and Social Responsibility– HutchCC contributes to the
public good by demonstrating responsible institutional citizenship and
treating people and organizations with equity, civility, and respect.

Service and Collaboration – HutchCC provides a dynamic environment
of active internal and external partnerships embracing the potential for
innovation.

Diversity – HutchCC celebrates the uniqueness of individuals, ideas,
and forms of expression.

Leadership – HutchCC fosters the development of and provides
opportunities for leadership within the institution and the community.

Responsiveness – HutchCC is future-focused, examining trends to
better predict how conditions will change and innovating to better meet
the mission-driven needs of students and other stakeholders.

Why Strategic Planning and Continuous
            Improvement Matter
Strategic Planning and Continuous Improvement at Hutchinson
Community College (HutchCC) focus on student engagement and
success and are aligned with the expectations of the Higher Learning
Commission (HLC) and other best practices.

HutchCC will continue its commitment to initiatives that are proven to
ensure student success, as defined by persistence, enrollment,
retention, and completion (PERC Initiatives).

The College completed the HLC Academy for Persistence and Retention
to develop a systemic approach to and institutionalization of strategic
planning efforts.

The Strategic Planning Steering Team developed a measurement/
analysis tool to ensure initiatives are evaluated and continuously
monitored for success.

Strategic Planning guides HutchCC as we fulfill our mission, empower
students, develop abilities, talents, and skills, celebrate achievements,
and encourage lifelong learning.

Strategic Planning Process 2015 - Present
While the 2015 - 2016 Strategic Plan focused on student engagement,
HutchCC also targeted persistence, enrollment, retention, and
completion (PERC). After meeting with various campus groups including
committee leadership, department chairs and coordinators,
Representative Assembly, faculty, and staff, a new Strategic Planning
Steering Team and plan were developed. The new plan included the
merging of President’s Council, HLC Coordinator, Institution-Wide
Council, and later the Strategic Planning Project Manager, to broaden
strategic planning efforts.

The new Strategic Planning Steering Team developed a planning model
tied to budget development and a timeline for identifying initiatives
starting in 2015. The updated strategic planning model utilizes existing
teams/councils to make strategic planning an integral part of College
culture and processes. The intended impact of the updated strategic
planning initiative on the institution is to better use resources (analytic,
financial, human, facilities, technology, and equipment/materials)
within strategic planning processes.

The Strategic Planning Steering Team requested all committees,
departments, and divisions submit strategic planning goals and action
projects to support the strategic planning initiative by November 2015.
Fifteen action projects were submitted and the Team noted that some
projects complemented each other. The Steering Team asked groups
who submitted those projects to combine them into a single action
project. After complementary projects were combined, the Team
rankordered seven Action Projects.

Action projects were deliberated using a rubric with eight categories
including return-on-investment, feasibility, sustainability, size of impact,
urgency, acceptability, measurability, and improved data referencing.
Measures were related specifically to the strategic goal. After multiple
ranking meetings, four action projects with institution-wide impact and
multi-year timelines topped the list with similar scores.

The Team believed that all projects were valuable and could carry
forward if not selected as part of the strategic plan that year. The Team
selected all four action projects for 2015 - 2016 and determined a

completion timeline for projects with the understanding that no new
action projects would be adopted until 2017 - 2018.

As existing projects approached completion and resources became
available, the team solicited additional project proposals in Fall 2017.
Six proposals were submitted and reviewed using the rubric. After
multiple ranking meetings and reviewing available resources, two
projects were selected to begin Fall 2018. As those projects became a
part of normal operations, new projects were solicited to begin in Fall
2021. From that round of proposals, four new projects were selected.

This cycle of project proposal submission, selection, and completion will
continue as current projects and initiatives become part of the daily
culture at Hutchinson Community College.

Strategic Priorities, Goals, And Objectives

Project One: Blue Dragon Experience
Through the use of technology and workflow management, this project
aims to meet student expectations efficiently and effectively by
breaking down barriers and collecting data for ongoing success. The
project scope will include customer relationship management and agile
planning process. Projected completion date for Goal 1 is Spring 2022,
other goals ongoing.

Goal One
Acquire and implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
tool (PERC Initiative: Persistence, Enrollment, Retention, Completion)
Objectives:
   1.1 Complete the RFP process to acquire a CRM (status: completed
   Spring 2021)
   1.2 Implement the CRM with a focus on the Degree Seeking
   workflow (status: in progress)
   1.3 Create reporting metrics to track service usage, time of day, yield
   rates and key performance indicators of PERC (status: in progress)

Goal Two
Enhance service delivery via agile planning process (PERC Initiative:
Persistence, Enrollment, Retention, Completion) Objectives:
   2.1 Identify key stakeholders (status: completed Spring 2023)
   2.2 Set a cadence of regular check-ins (status: completed Spring
   2023)
   2.3 Identify gaps in service delivery. Utilize the rubric developed by
   the Coordinator of Enrollment Management to determine priority
   level and implementation needs, develop plans to address these
   gaps (status: in progress)

Goal Three
Training and onboarding (PERC Initiative: Persistence, Enrollment,
Retention, Completion) Objectives:
   3.1 Create Bridge modules for customer service, phone, and email
   etiquette and general knowledge on the key service areas (status: in
   progress)
   3.2 Establish periodic review cycles for training to be reviewed (e.g.
   quarterly, yearly, etc.) (status: in progress)

Project Two: Career Services
The project will focus on a solution giving career services a prominent,
institution-wide position within HutchCC, to prepare students for and
connect them with part time and career employment opportunities and
to provide employers with access to students and graduates. Projected
completed.

Goal One
Establish Career Services Planning (CSP) team and identify current
resources and challenges (PERC Initiative: Persistence, Enrollment,
Retention, Completion) Objectives:
   1.1 Identify the academic and administrative partners involved in
   supporting career-related services to form the Career Services
   Planning (CSP) team (status: completed Fall 2020)
   1.2 CSP team selects a team lead and establishes a meeting schedule
   (status: completed Fall 2020)
   1.3 Identify current career services, activities and support occurring
   throughout institution departments and locations (status: completed
   Fall 2021)
   1.4 Identify current graduate employment and earnings data
   collection efforts and the impact of continuing the current process
   (status: completed Spring 2022)
   1.5 Describe any unmet needs and challenges in current services
   (status: completed Spring 2022)

Goal Two
Identify career services mission and model (PERC Initiative: Persistence,
Enrollment, Retention, Completion) Objectives:
   2.1 Create the career services mission (status: completed Fall 2020)
   2.2 Outline the primary career services and flow chart their delivery
   (status: completed Fall 2021)
   2.3 Identify two to three post-secondary institutions with successful
   career service reputations and explore their systems (status:
   completed Fall 2022)
   2.4 Compare the product of Objective 2.2 with these systems and
   revise as needed (status: completed Spring 2022)
   2.5 Recommend how/where career services will function in the
   organization’s structure (status: completed Fall 2024)

Goal Three
Career services model recommendation (PERC Initiative: Persistence,
Enrollment, Retention, Completion) Objectives:

3.1 Identify major expenses and establish budget for implementation
(status: completed Fall 2024)
3.2 Determine milestones and timeline for implementation (status:
completed Fall 2024)
3.3 Present plan to President’s Council (status: completed Spring
2023)

Project Three: Blue X
This project aims to create a student-centric, human-centric user
experience by building out DragonZone, implementing a document
management system, and replacing the Student Information System
(SIS) with a modern, scalable, sustainable SIS to advance HutchCC into
the future. Projected completion date Fall 2025.

Goal One
Replace the existing SIS (POISE/PX) with a modern, scalable SIS. (PERC
Initiative: Persistence, Enrollment, Retention, Completion)
Objectives:
    1.1 Following the HutchCC software acquisition procedure (Ref
    #1056), select a Student Information System to replace the current
    legacy system. (status: in progress)
    1.2 Review current processes to identify areas for modernization and
    automation. (status: in progress)
    1.3 Pre-deployment tasks. (status: not started)
    1.4 Migration of data. Ensure the preservation of historical data.
    (status: not started)
    1.5 Deploy the SIS. (status: not started)

Goal Two
Replace the existing Document Management System (Rapid Image).
(PERC Initiative: Persistence, Enrollment, Retention, Completion)
Objectives:
   2.1 Following the HutchCC software acquisition procedure (Ref
   #1056), select a Document Management System for secure upload,
   document retention, workflows, and automations. (status: in
   progress)
   2.2 Review current secure upload and document retention processes
   to identify areas for modernization and automation. (status: not
   started)
   2.3 Pre-deployment tasks. (status: not started)
   2.4 Deploy the Document Management System. (status: not started)

Goal Three
Build out DragonZone as the premier community college student
experience by developing enhancements and shoring up existing
functionality. (PERC Initiative: Persistence, Enrollment, Retention,
Completion)
Objectives:
   3.1 Rewrite to authenticate logins with AD. (status: not started)

3.2 Develop an account retention policy and automation. (status: not
started)
3.3 Develop integrations to new SIS. (status: not started)

Project Four: Safety, Security, and Emergency
Management
Campus safety and security is an integral part of the Hutchinson
Community College experience. Assessment instruments utilized
throughout the years, including the Ruffalo Noel Levitz, various in-house
surveys, and surveys and forums by Faculty Senate, have identified a
need to evaluate current campus safety and security procedures.

This project aims to evaluate the current campus safety, security, and
emergency management plans and procedures and determine
necessary measures to improve these areas. Projected completion date
Spring 2025.

Goal One
Assess Presence and Availability of Campus Security
Objectives:
  1.1 Evaluate campus security during day and night hours to
   determine if changes need to be made. (status: in progress)
  1.2 Assess duties of daytime campus security (status: in progress)
  1.3 Evaluate current contract with company providing security
   assistance outside daytime campus security hours. (status: in
   progress)
  1.4 Migration of data. Ensure the preservation of historical data.
   (status: not started)
  1.5 Deploy the SIS. (status: not started)

Goal Two
Evaluate current safety features at all HutchCC sites.
Objectives:
   2.1 Create an all-HutchCC location master plan for security camera
   locations. (status: in progress)
   2.2 Increase where needed, lighting on main campus and all off
   campus sites. (status: in progress)

Goal Three
Review and update Crisis Management Plan.
Objectives:
   3.1 Review current Crisis Management Plan to identify areas that
   need to be revised. (status: not started)
   3.2. Disseminate revised Crisis Management Plan to all HutchCC
   staff. (status: not started)

Project Five: College Registration
Prior to the ubiquity of technology in the provision of student services,
college registration involved face-to-face contact, long lines, and paper
and pencil processes. Students selected courses from a course catalog,
enrolled, and either applied for aid, paid for courses, or made payment
arrangements as part of the registration process.

As technology has advanced, colleges have adapted and attempted to
reduce barriers to enrollment and registration. One of the most
significant access barriers to enrollment, retention, and completion, is
cost, particularly for first generation students and others who might be
unaware of resources available to finance their college education. At
Hutchinson Community College (HutchCC), one such technological
innovation that reduced the initial barrier to entry was electronic intent.
This process, first introduced in the early 2000s, afforded students the
opportunity to enroll, log into their student portal, and self-certify their
schedule and commit to the financial obligation associated with their
schedule – no lines, no payment up front. In essence, students
electronically sign a "contract” agreeing to make arrangements to pay
for their courses. Doing so provides the college with a commitment
from the student. Historically, this has been considered the registration
process.

This project aims to evaluate the current college registration process
(intent) and consider proactive measures to retain student enrollment,
assist students in applying for available aid and scholarships, and
provide financial literacy on the front end of the enrollment process.
Projected completion date Spring 2025.

Goal One
Establish clearly defined steps involved in student registration and
timely communication at each step (i.e. student “touch points”).
Objectives:
  1.1 Create purposeful, automated message(s) triggered by student
   enrollment to guide students through the student registration
   process (e.g. payment, textbooks, parking permit, photo ID, etc.).
   (status: not started)
  1.2 Create a DragonZone intercept to record student intent for
   payment. security (status: not started)
  1.3 In collaboration with impacted departments, use innovative tools
   to develop and manage departmental processes for guiding students

through their selected form of payment (e.g. payment plan, federal
   financial aid, scholarships). (status: not started)

Goal Two
Collaborate with IT to develop a “rolling” drop system based upon
course start date and refund date.
Objectives:
   2.1 Establish a transparent, purposeful communication plan for
   student drop procedures that creates an informed consumer.
   (status: not started)
   2.2 Program the system to drop students who have not completed
   key milestones of student registration (e.g. – have not selected a
   method of payment). (status: not started)
   3.2 Review HutchCC’s Refund Policy to ensure alignment with a
   modernized student registration process. (status: not started)

Goal Three
Implement changes to the student registration process and train
campus groups.
Objectives:
  3.1 Create empowered students by educating them through easily
   accessible online videos on completing the registration process (next
   steps after enrollment). (status: not started)
  3.2. Create empowered employees by educating them through
   Bridge training modules on completing the registration process (e.g.
   – advisors, Business Office staff, Financial Aid staff, etc.). (status: not
   started)
  3.3 Evaluate student enrollment and retention data comparing
   current processes (intent) and the new student registration process.
   (status: not started)
  3.4 Review new student registration process and make changes, as
   necessary. (status: not started)

Glossary of Terms

Accountability: Held responsible for and providing evidence of student
learning/achievement and sound fiscal organizational management

Action Plans: Specific, detailed actions and activities, budgets and
timelines to accomplish strategy

Action Steps: Ways to implement a strategy to reach an outcome or
goal

Advisory Board: Representative group of individuals whose experience
and expertise in a specific technical program area have an interest in
promoting education

Advocate: Person responsible for shepherding an Action Plan to
completion or goal accomplishment

Assessment: Methods used to collect evidence of what a student knows
or is able to do

Benchmarking: Comparing the performance of an institution against
that of other institutions

Best Practice: Generally agreed upon processes, derived from
experienced experts, used to increase the likelihood of success

Completion: Associate degree or certificate awarded measured at 100%,
150%, and 200% of program length in both credit hours and time

Decision-Making Process: Procedures used to come to a final
determination

Demographic Data: Statistics of human populations including size,
distribution, diseases, births and deaths

Empowerment: To delegate power or authority to another

Enrollment: Total number of credit hours measured by comparison to
previous comparable term
Environmental Scan: Process of taking stock by examining the
institution’s environment, both internal and external

Goals: An organization’s desired, measurable end results related to
strategic initiatives

Individual Performance Plan: An employee’s goals developed for the
division/ department’s action plan and linked to an appropriate
institutional strategic initiative

Initiatives: Broad areas identified as the focus of the strategic plan

Mission: A description of the organization’s purpose and function,
serving as a standard by which all strategic plan components are judged

Needs Assessment: Process of determining what elements are
necessary or useful in reaching an outcome or goal

Outcome: A desired result stated in measurable terms

PERC: Acronym for persistence, enrollment, retention, and completion

Performance Measure: Standard used to measure progress toward
achieving a strategic goal

Persistence: Credit hour (course) completion; number and percentage
of credit hours successfully completed each semester

Qualitative Data: Information that is expressed non-numerically,
generally verbal but sometimes visual or auditory

Quantitative Data: Information that can be counted or expressed
numerically

Retention: Continuous enrollment semester to semester until certificate
or degree is awarded; number and percentage of students who
continue enrollment each semester

Stakeholders: Anyone affected by the institution--students, parents,
staff, businesses and community members
Strategic Alignment: Whereby all divisions/departments, committees,
and individuals are supporting the institution’s mission, vision, values,
and strategic initiatives

Strategic Initiative: Major areas relating to the institution’s long-term
survival, value and growth that takes priority over specific individual or
division/departmental goals

Strategic Plan: A long-range guide detailing specific steps that an
organization takes to reach its mission

Support Services: Ancillary services and activities necessary to assure
quality educational programs

SWOT Analysis: A tool for auditing an organization and its environment.
It is the first stage of planning (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats)

Transfer: Transfer to a four-year school; number and percentage of
students who transfer to a four-year school

Transparency: Making information about the institution open and freely
available to stakeholders

Values: Priorities influencing how the organization operates

Vision: Compelling image of the desired future for the institution
established by the president, supported by the Board of Trustees and
staff/faculty

Steering Team Membership
Brea Turner
Brooks Mantooth
Bryce McFarland
Dr. Carter File
Christina Long
Christopher Lau
Corbin Strobel
Emily Hemmerling
Dr. Eric Dudley
Jessica Fortner
Julie Blanton
Lisa Jolliff
Mandie Lyons
Rhonda Corwin
Dr. Ryan Diehl
Taliatha Hudson-Palmer
Dr. Tricia Paramore

Hutchinson Community College Board of Trustees
Terry Bisbee
Rod Calhoun
David Marshall
Todd Miller
Mo Penny
Bob Snyder
Jan Young